Prince George's County seeks rider input on proposed TheBus service changes

Rush-hour riders on Route P37 could lose most of the day’s bus service, while Fort Washington commuters on Route P95 could lose express trips to Fort Washington Medical Center and see service end at the Park & Ride instead. Prince George’s County posted the proposal April 17 and said the spring service change would take effect June 14 if adopted. The county is asking riders to weigh in through a survey before the new schedules begin, leaving less than two months for the public to react.

One of the sharpest changes would hit P37, which runs between College Park and Adelphi. The county said the route would operate only during peak periods, from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and again from 2:50 p.m. to 6:50 p.m., because of low ridership. Another proposal would send P88 into the Heather Hill Apartments complex, adding a stop inside the property and improving direct access for riders, although county officials said that change could slightly increase travel time.

The most visible cut for medical riders would come on P95. The county proposed dropping the two weekday morning express trips to Fort Washington Medical Center and eliminating the first two Saturday trips. Fort Washington trips would also end at the Fort Washington Park & Ride rather than the medical center, a change that could force some riders to add time, transfers or a longer walk to reach appointments and shifts.

County officials are also considering Sunday service on P22, P43, P64, P65, P76, P85, P86 and P88. That would be a notable shift because TheBus currently operates Monday through Saturday on its fixed-route network. Those routes connect Greenbelt and Cheverly, Takoma Langley Transit Center and Addison Road, Suitland and Downtown Largo, Capitol Heights and Forestville, Addison Road and Upper Marlboro, Branch Avenue and Southern Maryland Hospital Center, Naylor Road and Clinton, and Southern Avenue and Branch Avenue, corridors that matter for riders trying to reach Metro, work, school and medical stops without a car.

The spring proposal comes less than a year after the county’s June 30, 2025 bus redesign, which officials called the first step in the Transit Vision Plan. That plan aims to expand transit service by 30 percent over five years, and county materials said the 2025 overhaul was coordinated with WMATA’s June 29 launch of Better Bus. The redesign added service into Bowie, Fairwood, Adelphi, Friendly and Fort Washington, and the new spring changes would fine-tune that network again just as riders are still adjusting to the post-redesign system.